In Company
by Lyricals
Summary: Literati. PostSeason 7. Were we naked at the time? Because if we were naked I probably wasn't listening.
1. Vanishing Dot on a Map

**In Company**

**Chapter One  
**Vanishing Dot on a Map**  
**

The apartment was nearly silent. It was always like that during the mid-afternoon. The clamoring of keys on the wireless keyboard was the only thing that was usually making a noise. It was the perfect time to do his work—at least that was what Jess thought. His keyboard could simply sit on his lap as he lounged, nothing but his thoughts flowing through his fingertips. No wires to tie him down. There were no distractions as everyone was off doing who knows what and the hustle and bustle of the city was nonexistent.

Jess stared at the dark screened monitor. It helped his writing that way. He simply turned it off so that he could just type out what he felt. There was no worrying about any grammar or spelling mistakes. That would come later; it was his editor's job after all. This technique also helped when people were over. He couldn't necessarily see what he was typing, but any certain person who just happened to be attempting to read over his shoulder had nothing to be looking at as well. It was a win-win situation in his opinion. He found it less distracting then his former method of using the yellow lined paper from his legal pad and that blue ink pen that failed to work more than half of the time.

He hadn't gotten very far today though. He hadn't known how long he had been just staring at the black screen without typing a single word. However, the monotonous sounds of the ticking clock could have hinted at the answer to that unasked question, had he bothered to count each tock. He pushed off the wall under his desk with his feet, forcing his swiveling office chair to tilt back slightly. He had seriously attained a major case of writers block. Where was his muse when he needed her?

As if on cue, a shuffling of keys could be heard outside of the apartment door. The rattling continued for quite a while, and it seemed like she was having a bit of a problem. He smirked slowly, curiously wondering what the hold up was. Removing his feet from the wall, he sat up straight in his chair and placed his keyboard on the unorganized desk that sat before him. He walked over to the apartment's entrance and looked through the door's equipped peek-hole. His smirk turned into a grin when he saw a disfigured-looking Rory Gilmore juggling a box while trying to grab the correct key.

Taking a step away from the door, he reached out to undo the dead bolt and opened the door for her.

"Hey." He greeted her casually.

Rory was not as kind with the pleasantries as she took the box she was holding and shoved it into his arms exasperating the word "Heavy!" as she did so.

Not expecting it to be so heavy, even with her blunt warning, he dropped the box, gravity pulling it quickly towards the ground, reaching his right foot with a rather loud 'thud'. "Ow." Jess stated slightly sarcastically, then adding, "What the hell are you carrying around a box of bricks for?"

Rory blushed slightly. "Sorry." She tried to sound sympathetic, but the giggle emerging from her apology showed through her façade and brought out her amusement. She bent over to retrieve her box which Jess, ever so swiftly, removed from laying haphazardly on him by sliding his foot from under it as he winced in pain. "It's not that heavy. I carried it all the way here."

Jess' brow furrowed. "I just wasn't expecting it, that's all." He followed her towards the kitchen where she sat the box on the granite countertop.

"Do you want some ice?" Rory laughed mockingly.

"Mean." He flashed a pout, before curiosity once again took the best of him as he approached the counter where the box now lay. Rory was in the midst of opening it. "So, what's actually in there? Not really bricks I hope, because if it is, I will seriously believe you did that on purpose."

"Nope, not bricks. Much better." Jess hovered over Rory's shoulder as she attempted to open it. "Do you mind?" She jokingly questioned.

"You hurt me. I have rights." He smirked as she rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the box.

"Fine. I _was_ going to repay you for all this guilt in another way, but I guess you already picked your prize." Rory teased as the final flap of the box was opened.

Jess gently pushed Rory aside to get a better view of what was in the box. His expression changed from a look of excitement to mock boredom. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Because the book shelf is new, and empty, and you'd know I'd want to fill it?" Rory came in between the box and Jess, grabbing him around the neck.

Reciprocating the gesture around her waist, Jess took a step forward, closing the gap, as he did so. "I don't think that's it."

"Oh." Rory faked a puzzled look on her face. "Because I just know how much you love books and I thought I would be _really_ nice and buy you some new ones?"

"Hmm…I don't think that's it either." Jess smiled.

"Really? Oh, well is it because _I'm_ a huge sucker for books?" She smiled back at him.

"Maybe that's it." His smile grew before leaning in. Their lips hovered in front of each others, partially touching every so often. Jess watched as Rory closed her eyes before he did the same and deepened the kiss.

Their lips soon parted and although the kiss wasn't long, it was filled with something more than infatuation. "So, how was your day?" Rory asked him as she grabbed his right hand with her left, leading him to the red sofa so they could talk.

"Boring. I didn't get anything done. I can't write in these conditions." He joined her on the couch where she then went about placing her head on his shoulder.

"What conditions?" Rory titled her head to gaze into the chocolate-colored eyes that were staring down at her.

"The ones where you're not here with me." Jess tried to remain serious although his signature smirk quickly showed through.

Rory glared at him and playfully slapped him on the thigh. "Quite the line, Mariano."

"Don't I get something for the effort?" His smirk remained firmly planted on his face.

"No. You're just mocking me for what I told you last night." Rory crossed her arms across her chest and looked down towards her feet which were resting on the oak coffee table.

"Am I? What did you tell me last night? Were we naked at the time? Because if we were naked I probably wasn't listening." His face now showed a rather large grin.

"You are such a jerk!" A casual look of surprise laced her features.

"Well, I try." Jess shrugged as if it was some sort of accomplishment.

"I don't know why I stay with you sometimes." She placed her head back on to his right shoulder as he put his right arm around her pulling her closer.

"Because you love me." He smiled placing a single kiss on the top of her head.

"Oh, that." She rolled her eyes before heading towards his lips once more and gently kissed him on the corner of his mouth before retreating back to her previous location.

Silence approached the apartment, this time with no other distractions besides the ticking of the clock that drove both of them crazy.

"How was your day?" Jess asked after a while.

"Oh you know, packing up boxes, trying to shove them all in my tiny, little, car." She sighed heavily. "Hard labor, you know."

"I wish I could have helped. You had to make me stay here all day where I accomplished absolutely nothing."

"I would have loved your help too, but you have a deadline to make in less than a week and I'll be damned if you miss it and get fired because of me."

"I'm not going to get fired. I worked with the guys at Truncheon for over two years before I left. They won't fire me. Hell, they're afraid of me."

Rory smiled. "Well, it's the principle of the thing."

"What is that exactly?" Jess looked over at Rory.

"Quality bonding time with Mom."

"Ahh…I was wondering why it took you four hours to go three streets over to get what I'm assuming is that box of books and whatever else is in your car."

"Thank you." Rory replied, out of the blue.

"For what?"

"Agreeing to move back here…to Stars Hollow. It means a lot that you'd do that for me."

"Who said that I moved back here for you?"

"You just don't know how to take a compliment, do you?"

"I'll work on it."

Once again the room was filled with silence. Both Jess and Rory looked out their first-story apartment window watching the citizens of Stars Hollow walk by.


	2. Of Holding Hands and Red Bouquets

**Chapter Two  
**Of Holding Hands & Red Bouquets

It was still dark out when his eyes flickered opened. However, it wasn't like those times when your body naturally wakes. Pigs would be flying circles around his head had he actually woken up by choice before the sun had neared the center of the sky. It was the noise she was making as she scampered frantically looking for something unknown to him.

Begrudgingly he threw the thin blanket off from over him and walked to the threshold of the bedroom door. The apartment was small, containing no hallways. So, as he leaned against the door's opening, he could clearly see into the kitchen where Rory was frantically looking for something.

"Lose something?" Jess' voice was still laced with sleep, it sounded groggy.

Rory jumped slightly, unaware that he had been watching her for quite some time now. Turning around, she faced him. "Is there any reason there is no coffee here? I mean none, not one bean!"

Jess smirked as he made his way to the kitchen…more accurately the small counter that stood next to all of the undersized kitchen equipment. Placing both his hands on her shoulders, he stared straight into the mesmerizing blue eyes she had inherited from her mother. "Is there any reason why you're looking for coffee so early in the morning?" He removed his hands from their previous position and looped his arms around her waist. "Come back to bed."

"But I need coffee to wake up…" Both were standing close now and Jess began to fervently attack her neck with his lips.

"You're already awake." He stated between kisses.

"Yeah, but I woke up…Jess!" He bit her neck softly before retreating to look straight at her once more; she continued talking. "I woke up wondering if I had bought any coffee…and so I got up to look and that's when you came in…and I really want some coffee right now."

"You're insane."

"Yes…well, blame my mother." She smiled. After a moment of comfortable silence, Jess let go of Rory and went to the coat hanger to retrieve his jacket. "Where are you going?"

"You mean 'Where are _we_ going?'" He grabbed her jacket and threw it at her.

The jacket fell on the floor since Rory had not been expecting any sort of object to be hurled at her. She bent over and began to pull it around her. "Okay, where are we going?"

"To get coffee." Jess held out his right hand and Rory grabbed it with her left.

As they stepped outside, the star filled navy sky was in a battle with the rising sun. The dark of the night's sky was clashing with the orange hues of the morning. The streets were bare of sound except for the various callings of birds.

The pair walked right next to each other; there were no gaps between both of their forms. Jess' right arm was wrapped around Rory's lower back; her left hand swooped across her body holding on to his right hand tightly. Their pace was monotonous, blending into the sounds of nature, except for every third step when Rory insisted with her motions that their stride be longer—that way as to not step on the cracks of the sidewalk. She didn't consider herself superstitious—Step on a crack and break you mother's back. Of course, it never hurt anyone to be a little hesitant.

Rory lazily laid her head on Jess' right shoulder. "It's pretty."

"What is?" They stopped walking in front of Doose's Market, which regretfully, they found to be closed. Jess pulled her away from the store. "We can come back later." They kept walking.

"The town…it's pretty." She continued their conversation after the brief interruption.

"It's Stars Hollow." No sarcasm. Just pointing out the obvious.

"Do you have a problem with Stars Hollow?"

"Did I say I had a problem?"

"No, it just seems like you were insinuating something."

The gap widened as they both took a step from each other, arguing now, ruining the peacefulness of the morning.

-----

Two Years Ago…

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_I missed the last one, figured I owed you." Rory looked at him in disbelief. "If you don't want me here, I can go."_

"_No…I mean, it's great that you're here. I'm actually really happy that you're here…it's just, after what happened last year I kind of figured I'd never see you again."_

_Jess smirked. "You can't get rid of me that easy."_

"_How'd you get a ticket to get in here?"_

"_I have my ways."_

_Rory smiled, "Same old Jess."_

"_Never claimed to be different." Silence emerged briefly._

"_Did I ever say I was sorry?"_

"_About what?"_

"_What happened, you know, the last time we saw each other."_

"_Don't worry about it."_

"_Jess…I need to tell you how sorry I am. I mean I shouldn't have…it was just stupid."_

"_It's okay. It's in the past."_

"_I still feel bad about it."_

"_Fine. How about you make it up to me?"_

"_What?"_

"_I thought you said that you wanted to tell me you were sorry."_

"_Yeah…"_

"_So, make it up to me."_

"_Alright."_

"_You don't even know what you're agreeing to."_

"_I don't care. Anything. I'll do anything."_

"_Anything?" His face played a suggestive smirk._

"_Jerk." Her forehead scrunched together as she gave him a playful slap._

"_Kidding. How 'bout coffee?"_

"_I'd love to…it's just Mom and Luke were going to take me out to eat. You know, celebration thing."_

"_Right. Maybe some other time then." _

"_You can come."_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_Come to eat. It'll be fun. Free food, endless conversations, good times."_

"_I don't know…"_

"_C'mon Jess, please. What if there's not another time? What if I never see you again? Please? Please, come." _

_Jess absorbed a deep breath and sighed. "Okay." His tone was low, almost in a whisper._

_Rory's frantic features quickly dissipated into a large ear-to-ear grin. Impulsively she jumped into Jess' arms and hugged him tightly._

_Surprised at her sudden action, Jess took a moment to register what was happening before he hugged her back._

"_I guess I should find a seat then." Jess stated as he and Rory pulled away from their embrace._

"_You should go find Mom and Luke. I'm sure they'll both be happy to see you."_

"_Luke, maybe, but Lorelai? I'm sure she's still the president of the 'I Hate Jess Fan Club'."_

"_Don't be so sure of that, I'm pretty sure she loves you now."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_I told her you were the one who got me thinking straight about Yale."_

"_Huh." He smirked, just as he had always done back when they were dating. "I guess I'll go find them then."_

_They went their separate ways, Jess towards the rows and rows of chairs, Rory towards the rest of her class. As she was looking for her place to stand in line among the "G's", someone tapped her on the shoulder._

_She turned around and saw Logan, dressed in what seemed to be a rather expensive suit, smiling at her with a bouquet of red roses. "Hey, Ace." He smiled at her and handed her the flowers._

"_Logan! Hi! What are you doing here? I thought you had to do something for business or something…"_

_He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of line. "Come with me for a second."_

"_Logan, the ceremony is going to start any minute!"_

"_It'll only be a minute, I promise."_

"_Okay, fine."_

_Logan pulled Rory away from her classmates to an area near a deserted tree. "So, what did you—" She stopped speaking as Logan bent down on one knee and pulled a black velvet box out of his suit pocket._

"_I'm going to risk being really, really cliché about this, but I just want it to be perfect, because you're perfect and… well," He opened the box revealing an elegant but abnormally oversized ring, "Rory Gilmore, will you marry me?" _

_Her mind was racing; as soon as he had popped the question Jess' face appeared in her mind. 'No, he can NOT be the reason I say no. We're over; we've been over for a long time…' Rory thought to herself. Then she pictured what married life with Logan would be like. She pictured them in some sort of mansion, where she was busy party planning and talking about things like the D.A.R. She thought of what her life would be like…identical to the one her grandmother was living now… 'No. No. No…'_

_As her mind raced, she watched Logan's face go from exuberantly happy to almost angry._

"_Why not?" His voice snapped her out of her trance and she looked back at him, her features showing confusion. 'Oh.' She thought as it had registered that she had already said 'No' out loud. _

"_Logan…I…" In the distance there was a squeal from the speakers as the microphone was being adjusted on the stage. "I…I…I have to go." She quickly turned around and attempted to run back to the line. Logan didn't follow her, he just stood there, dumbfounded._

_Rory returned back to her spot in line behind Paris. "Gilmore, are you okay? You're crying."_

"_I'm fine, Paris. It's just a little sad; you know…we're going to be leaving Yale after this."_

"_Yeah, I know what you mean." _

-----

"You agreed to move here, I thought you were okay with living here!"

"I moved here for you…it's not a big secret that I'm not a big fan of the town, nor is the town a fan of me."

"You hate it here, don't you?" Rory looked down to the ground, her voice laced with sadness now, not anger.

Jess stepped toward her and lifted her chin up so she would look at him. "It's not about me and the town; it's about me and you."

Rory smiled sadly and pecked him on the lips. "I'm sorry I overreacted. We don't have to live here if you don't want to. We can go elope and move to New York or Philadelphia or Seattle, or wherever. I don't mind, if it's what you want, I'll go."

He smirked. "Rory Gilmore, did you just ask me to marry you?"

"What? No! Where'd you get that idea?"

"You said _elope_."

"Did I? Well, it's a figure of speech. Besides, you're going to be the one proposing, Mister. I'll be damned if you're too stubborn to ask."

"So, do you want to…?"

"You better not be asking me like that…or right now. It's too soon."

"You didn't let me finish. Do you want to get that coffee?"

"Oh." A slight blush rose in her cheeks. "Yeah."

-----

_The conversation had lulled and every one was trying to figure out the next thing to say. Jess cleared his throat. "Thanks for letting me to come to dinner; it's nice to see all of you again." _

Lorelai leaned into Luke who was sitting on her left and whispered. "He's seems different."

_Luke matched her tone. "I told you…he's a good kid…man. He's a good man."_

"_So, Jess. I never got to thank you for bringing my Rory home to me." Lorelai looked across the table at Rory to whom she smiled at._

_Jess had been in the middle of sipping some of his water. He gulped. "Oh, I can't take credit for that. She was ready to go home."_

_Lorelai leaned back towards Luke. "No…seriously. He's really different. I actually like him."_

"_So, Rory, uh, where's Logan? I didn't see him at the ceremony." Lorelai asked her daughter. Jess looked away, attempting to hide the fact that he was not comfortable with the subject of Rory's boyfriend._

"_He was there…we just decided that it wasn't working anymore." Jess' attention returned to the people he was sitting with. It had just gotten interesting._

"_Oh, Sweetie! What happened? If you don't want to tell me now, you can always tell me at home…you don't have to tell me at all if you don't want to…"_

"_It's okay…I'll tell you now. He asked me a question, I didn't have the right answer, and we're done. No big deal." Rory shrugged her shoulders as if it was so._

_Luke and Jess stayed quiet through the whole interaction. Neither knew what to say._

"_That had to have been one serious question if you broke up becau—Oh my God…he prop—" Lorelai quickly covered her own mouth with her hands._

"_It's okay Mom, you can say it…"_

"_He proposed? You were together for over two years…why'd you say no?" _

Rory subconsciously looked at Jess. "It just didn't feel right, that's all."

-----

Jess and Rory walked back towards Doose's. Taylor was just unlocking the door as they approached.

"Oh, hey Rory! You're up bright and early today." Taylor greeted, "Jess…" Jess smirked as Taylor rolled his eyes.

The three of them entered the market and Taylor walked off to grab his green apron. "We're not, by the way." Jess whispered in Rory's ear.

"Not what?"

"We're not going to move; not unless you want to. And I have a feeling you're not going to want to for a while."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Let's go get that coffee."


	3. This Life Lacks Thrill

**Chapter Three  
**This Life Lacks Thrill

Both Jess and Rory sauntered over to the aisle with the cans of ground coffee beans. It just so happened to also be the aisle for the toothpaste and the candy bars, but that's how it was in small stores like Doose's. The overall selection wasn't that bad for a store of that size, but it wasn't that great either.

"Coffee!" Rory reached out and grabbed the nearest canister.

Jess genuinely smiled at her adolescent qualities. "That all you need?"

"I think so."

The couple made their way to one of the registers where Taylor was now standing, adorning his hunter green apron with the golden-colored embroidery that read 'Doose's Market' in clear and concise block lettering. "Oh, no wonder you two are up so early! Gilmore's need their coffee." Taylor grinned at Rory as he dragged the item across the scanner.

"That they do." Jess spoke up, earning a playful glare from Rory.

"It'll be seven dollars and fourteen cents, please." Taylor read the total amount off of the register's read out.

Rory reached inside of the right-hand pocket of her red corduroy jacket. She pulled out a wad of crumpled bills along with a ripped up receipt. The print on the receipt had mostly faded, there was only enough of the black colored print to inform her that it was from the bookstore. She placed the contents of her pocket onto the small counter that was meant for use as a surface in which you could write out your checks—that was its assumed use anyway. Pulling each rectangular piece of currency apart from the other, she came across a twenty and handed it to Taylor. "There you go." She smiled and went about shoving the rest of the reserve notes back into her pocket as Taylor counted out her change.

Taylor placed the container of coffee grounds into a brown paper bag. He held out the bag and Jess reached to grab it. "Thanks, Taylor." Rory smiled and grabbed Jess' free hand, pulling him out of the store.

-----

_It was already mid-afternoon and Rory was at the park. She had graduated from Yale only a month ago, and she already had a 'gig' for a small newspaper in Hartford. She'd been lucky, the journalism field had been making cuts lately, and here she was, fresh out of college and working. _

_Rain had recently showered the region, leaving puddles in the dips and grooves of the roads and sidewalks and, that which mostly disappointed Rory, the benches. They were slightly curved which caught the left over rain that seemed to be waiting patiently for its chance at evaporation. Instead of taking a seat as she had planned, she chose to stand. She thought about pulling out an old pad of paper and a pen; she could write down something while she waited. The thought caused butterflies to rise in her stomach, reminding her of those old movies she used to watch with her mom of those creepy journalists who wore trench coats and dark sunglasses as they were taking note of their surroundings while trying to look discreet. She suddenly thought about how she didn't want to look like a 'creepy journalist' right now, or ever for that matter, and decided against the pen and paper thing. _

_Breaking her out of her thoughts, her cell phone rang. Looking at the Caller I.D., she smiled. "Hey."_

"_Hi there." A deep voice responded through the speaker._

"_What are you up to?"_

"_You know; my journalist-like tendencies." She smiled at the receiver on her phone._

"_Stalking people?"_

"_Shoot, I was trying to be all covert-ops about it." _

"_Well, I can see you so you're probably not doing a good job at it."_

"_Where are you?" She slowly spun around in a circle trying to spot him in the crowd that mostly consisted of parents and their children._

"_Across the street." He answered vaguely._

"_What are you doing over there?" She asked as she turned to face him. Jess was standing right where he said he was; phone in hand. He raised his free hand to wave slightly as she saw him._

"_Stalking you."_

"_Ah…and we come full circle. Why don't you come over here?"_

"_Why don't you come over here?"_

"_I asked you first?" She tried. _

"_I don't know…"_

"_Well, we can't have our first back-together-after-four-years-apart date standing a street length apart."_

"_Is that what this is?" Leave it to Jess to ask the hard questions that could make any conversation awkward._

"_What?"_

"_A date." He stated boldly._

"_Oh. Is it not? I just assumed that…it doesn't have to be…I was just saying…I was just…confused I guess." She stuttered; he had managed to fluster her once more._

_Jess smirked. "I want it to be."_

"_What?"_

"_I want it to be a date."_

"_Really?" She asked, unbelieving._

_There was a lull in the conversation for a moment. "We're making this way too complicated."_

"_We are, aren't we?"_

"_I'd say so. So, I'm going to hang up now…"_

"_Okay."_

"_And then I'll cross the street…since you asked first…and we can start this thing, okay?"_

"_Okay." Rory answered in an almost-whisper. Jess pressed the 'End' button on his phone and closed it. He quickly looked for any cars driving through his path before pacing across the street towards Rory. _

-----

Rory and Jess began walking again. Turning right out of the small grocery store, they were soon walking past Luke's. They looked inside and saw Luke preparing for the next day of business. He was currently taking down the mismatched chairs from off of the mismatched tables; together they created a sort of eclectic feel to the place. Rory began to walk faster, once again dragging Jess along, leading them both to the stoop outside of the diner door.

"Why are we going here?" Jess was quick to ask.

"Um, coffee." Rory answered in a 'duh' sort of way.

"You just bought coffee."

"Yeah, well, if we go home to have coffee it'll take a while to brew, not to mention the time it takes to get back home. If we go inside, where Luke already has coffee made, we can have it sooner."

"You act like I'm going to drink the foul substance."

"And you act like it's going to kill me."

"It will."

"Don't worry about it." She smiled and pecked him quickly on the lips before turning the handle to enter Luke's. Jess rolled his eyes and begrudgingly followed her inside.

"Oh hey." Luke greeted as he sat the last chair down on the floor.

"Hi Luke!" Rory answered, sitting down on one of the stools by the counter.

"Hey." Jess replied, joining Rory at the counter and setting the bag from Doose's on the floor next to him.

"You two are up early."

"How early is it exactly?" Jess asked, putting one elbow on the counter and using his arm as a post to rest his head.

Luke ignored him. "You want some coffee or something Rory?"

"Coffee would be great."

Luke smiled, he turned around and retrieved a large yellow mug and placed it in front of her. Turning around once more, he grabbed the steaming pot of coffee and began pouring it into her cup.

"Did you guys get all moved in?"

"Hardly. I didn't know I had so much stuff."

"Neither did I." Jess added, shutting his eyes now.

Luke ignored him again. "So, why exactly are you guys up so early."

"She woke me up." Jess opened his eyes and glared at Rory.

Rory blushed. "I was looking for coffee this morning…and we didn't have any; so we went to Doose's to pick some up."

"Uh-huh…so why are you here?"

"Coffee." Rory answered.

"I thought you said you bought some."

"She did." Jess answered groggily.

"You are so like your mother." Luke shook his head at Rory and grabbed a rag to start wiping down the tables.

Jess lifted his head completely now and he and Rory began talking. Just about little things, smiles could be seen on both of their faces; a chuckle here, a giggle there. Time must have passed in a rush—although, really an impossible occurrence—as the diner was now flooding with people ordering breakfast.

All of this was ignored by both Rory and Jess; they were trapped in their own world for the time being. However, a certain chime of the bells attached to the diner door caught their attention for some reason and caused them both to end the hour long conversation they had just had about nothing.

"Mom!" Rory stood up to greet her mother at the door, embracing her in a hug as she reached her.

"Hey Kiddo." Lorelai smiled as she hugged her daughter back. Retreating from the hold, the Gilmore girls walked back to the counter. "Hey Boyfriend-of-Kiddo." She greeted Jess as they took a seat.

"You know I have a name."

"Of course I know you have a name, _Jess_. I met you what, eight years ago? Hmm…that makes me sound old. Let's see…you came to Stars Hollow about a year before you two started dating the first time," Lorelai began counting on her fingers, "and you dated for less than a year, but we'll count it as a whole one," Lorelai added another finger, "then there were the Yale years where you pretty much fell off the face of the planet," her left hand was now fully accounted for and she added the thumb of her right, "Plus the more recent two years where you've been sleeping with my daughter…" Lorelai added the final two fingers.

"Mom!" Rory yelled. "I don't think I want the whole diner to know that." Rory glared at her mother, speaking in a low tone.

"Don't worry, Honey," Miss Patty added from across the room where she sat eating her omelet, "we all already know. How could you not? Have you seen Jess? Body of a God for sure."

Jess attempted to hide his face in the counter, suddenly feeling very awkward about the situation. Lorelai ignored what was just said and continued with her counting. "So that's one…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…Eight! Wow! Eight years. I don't look that old, do I?"

Rory was going to make a sarcastic remark when Luke swooped by, kissing her gently across the counter before handing her a mug full of coffee. "Good morning." Luke smiled at her.

"Hey there." Lorelai smiled back, taking an elongated sip from her black coffee.

"So, what's new?"

"My mother called."

"What did she want?" Rory asked.

"She said I don't have to come to Friday Night Dinner tonight."

"Really? We don't have to go? Why?"

"No, she said _I_ don't have to go tonight."

"No fair! Why?" Rory pouted childishly.

"Well, she wants you and Jess to go."

Jess' eyes went wide. "No. No way am I going there again."

"You can't not go. It's already been settled."

"You agreed so you could get a night off, didn't you?"

Rory glared at her mother, but it was ignored. "So, Lucas, what are you doing tonight?"

Luke shook his head. "You're horrible."

"Mom! They hate Jess." Rory turned to Jess, "No offense." Jess shrugged as Rory turned back. "Why would they want a dinner with just us?"

"Um, I kind of, um, accidentally-told-her-you-two-were-moving-in-together." She spoke quickly, blending her words into one.

"I thought we agreed we were going to avoid that topic." Jess scolded, succumbing to a headache.

"Well, what's life with out a thrilling dinner at the Gilmore's once in a while?" Lorelai smiled.

"A good one." Jess replied stubbornly.

"Well, you life obviously lacks thrills."

"Then I officially hate thrills."

-----

"_So where are we going now?" Rory and Jess were now hand and hand walking out of a small little café in Hartford._

"_Where do you want to go?"_

"_I don't know." Rory smiled at him._

"_Do you care?"_

"_Not really."_

"_Okay then."_

_Jess led Rory to his car where they proceeded to go inside. "So, where are we going?"_

"_Why do you want to know?"_

"_Well, if I know now I'll have all this time to work on my surprised face for when we get there."_

"_Or, I could not tell you and you could actually have a surprised face."_

"_Blasphemy!" Jess took hold of Rory's hand from over the console that was separating them in his car and gave it a slight squeeze._

-----

The couple stood in front of the larger-than-life door that was the entrance to the Gilmore mansion. They had actually been standing there for quite some time now, staring as if it was about to do some sort of trick.

"So, this is it." Rory blatantly stated.

"Yup." Jess' monosyllabic vocabulary reappeared suddenly.

"So do you want to press the button?"

"Nope."

"You could knock if you wanted to instead."

"No thanks."

"We're going to have to press it eventually."

"Or we could just turn around and leave." Jess suggested.

"That would be rude."

"It was rude shanghaiing us into this in the first place."

Rory rolled her eyes and reached out for the door bell. After pressing it, chimes echoed throughout the large house. Footsteps approached the door and the handle began to turn.


	4. Friday Night

**Chapter Four:  
**Friday Night

"Good evening." A tan-skinned woman of about thirty opened the door. She was dressed in the typical garb the maids wore at the elder Gilmore's house.

"Um, hi." Rory apprehensively greeted as Jess remained quiet. Rory had always found it awkward that a different maid would be helping around the house every time she visited. She found it odd that each time she entered the house she would have to introduce herself again and again, time after time. "I'm Rory…the granddaughter, and this is Jess."

The maid looked at her strangely, nodding slowly with every word Rory spoke. "Maybe we should step inside." Jess whispered to Rory, hooking her left arm with his right and leading them into the foyer.

As the maid closed the door, she turned around to face the couple. The three of them stood still, switching their gaze from one another's features to some small detail around the house.

Moments passed. "Um, Jess, maybe we should go to the living room and wait." Jess simply nodded as he followed Rory into the next room over. The maid continued to stand in the same spot.

They both sat on the sofa where Rory would usually be sitting with Lorelai and remained quiet for another few moments. Before too long, Jess spoke, "Shouldn't your grandparents be in here? I thought it was part of the whole 'My granddaughter has just moved in with the devil and now we have to see if he's worthy' theme we were going for."

Rory turned around on the couch, trying to see if she could spot one of her grandparents. Now that she thought about it, the house was eerily quiet. "Maybe they're in another room doing something." Rory shrugged.

Jess smirked. "Yeah, maybe they're…"

"Don't even say it!" Rory interjected, catching what he was about to say. "Oh God! Now I'm thinking about it and…gross!"

"Hey, I didn't say anything." Jess smiled, leaning back on the sofa, his hands supporting his head.

"You were going to." Rory glared.

"But I didn't, you stopped me."

"It still left a mental picture…a picture that I don't want thank you very much."

"You don't know that I was going to say _that_. You assumed, and you know what they say about that."

Rory rolled her eyes. "I need a drink."

Jess turned to the drink cart by the stairs. "Then make one."

"Grandma or Grandpa usually makes them though."

"Well, you could go upstairs and interrupt them." Jess smirked again.

"Jess!" Rory scolded.

"Okay, that time you can say I implied it." Jess smiled but the look on Rory's face was more angry than anything. Upon seeing this, his smile faded and instead he looked pissed off that she was making this such a big deal.

"Fine," Rory hastily changed the subject, "I'll make myself a drink."

"While you're up, make me one too."

"Why should I do that? You're being a jerk right now."

"Well, apparently something about this house must do that to me."

Rory ignored him and started preparing a couple of drinks. "Ice?" She asked in a stubborn tone.

"Sure."

Rory walked back to the couch with two drinks in hand. As she sat down she practically shoved the other one in Jess' hand.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically.

Rory didn't reply, instead she preoccupied herself with staring at a random artifact on the mantle.

"Rory, you're being ridiculous."

"Am I? Well, I guess I'm always being ridiculous then."

"I was just joking around. Why are you making it into such a big deal?"

"Maybe it _is_ a big deal to me."

Jess sighed heavily. "Can't we have one occasion here where we're not arguing?"

"Probably not." Rory snapped, setting her drink on the coffee table and changing her glance to another object around the room.

Jess sighed again as Rory crossed her arms. There had to be something he wasn't getting here. Some sort of underlying meaning that was blowing this entire thing out of proportion. The atmosphere was bitter and Jess was actually anticipating the delayed arrival of Emily and Richard. He rubbed his face with his hands before standing up.

"Where are you going?" Rory asked.

"I'm going to find out what's keeping your grandparents." He set his drink on a side table and started roaming the downstairs rooms of the house. When he entered the kitchen, he spotted the maid who had answered the door only a few minutes before.

Jess coughed slightly in a discreet attempt to get the maid's attention. The woman removed her eyes from the newspaper she was reading and looked at him. Her eyes suddenly went wide. "Uh, hi." Jess greeted.

The woman quickly stood up from the stool she had been sitting on and the muffin that was in her hand tumbled out of it; swiftly she patted down the wrinkles in her uniform. "Please don't tell Mrs. Gilmore, she hates it when we eat the food here. But it was just sitting there and I couldn't resist, and you know, since she's not here right now…I figured I wouldn't get caught;" the woman paused from her frantic rant to take a breath before continuing, "but now I'm as good as fired, aren't I?"

Jess kindly smiled at her. "I'm not going to tell her, don't worry. But what did you mean about her not being here?"

"She and Mr. Gilmore left about an hour ago."

"What? Why?" Jess' expression was full of confusion. They were supposed to be having dinner tonight, right?

"A friend of theirs was in the hospital or something. I wasn't really listening."

"Did they tell you they were having guests over tonight?"

The maid thought for a minute. "Oh! Yes! They said that their granddaughter and her boyfriend should be coming over in half an hour and that I should tell them that had to leave because of an emergency and that they would call later and reschedule."

"And when we arrived you didn't tell us because…"

"I must have forgotten." The maid shrugged.

Jess rubbed his temples, feeling a headache emerge. "Well, thanks for nothing then." He turned around quickly out of the kitchen and back to the living room where Rory was still sitting.

"Rory."

"What?" She answered resentfully as if his interruption of her staring match with a coaster was even mildly important.

"They're not here."

"What do you mean they're not here?." Her voice was gentler now as she stood up and walked next to him. "They're always here, it's Friday and on Fridays we have Friday Night Dinner"

"There was some sort of emergency; I don't know what, that's just what the maid said."

"An emergency? Are they okay? What happened?"

"It wasn't either of them, one of their friends I think."

"Oh. Why didn't the maid say anything when we got here?"

"She claimed she forgot."

"You'd think that would be something you would remember when people come over to visit."

"Yeah."

"So I guess we should probably go then."

"That seems logical." He was the one being cold now. The walked out of the house and were now standing in the driveway.

"Jess…" She reached out to touch him on the arm in an attempt to apologize but he jerked it away as soon as she reached it.

"What, Rory?"

Rory looked at him with pleading eyes. "_Can_ we not argue for longer than a day?" She broadened the question he had asked earlier.

"You were the one who started it." He crossed his arms stubbornly.

"How's this supposed to work?"

"How's what supposed to work?"

"Us, this relationship. We're always arguing about little things…how is it supposed to work?" Rory looked distraught now, she just stood there limply.

Jess blinked slowly, _there_ _was that underlying meaning_. He walked up to Rory and grabbed her by the hands, forcing her to look up at him. "Rory you're being stupid." They weren't the most eloquent of words that she had been expecting, on the other hand she wasn't expecting something entirely romantic either; it was Jess after all. She gave him a confused look and he continued. "If you think that me making a stupid joke about your grandparents or the tiny issue about where _I_ want to live is going to stop this relationship from working out you're dead wrong."

"But what happens if a small argument turns into a big one and you end up hating me or I end up hating you and we break up and then I end up realizing that there's no one else out there better for me than you and I'm single for the rest of my life and become the neighborhood cat lady? What happens then?" She rambled and he smiled.

"That's not going to happen."

"How do you know? How are you so sure?"

"Because, we were already apart for four years and we came back to one another. Because we love each other. Because we belong together." Jess listed off all the reasons that came to his mind before embracing her in a comforting hug.

Rory put her head against his chest. "I don't want to be the cat lady." She whispered.

"I won't let you be the cat lady." He reassured, kissing her softly on the top of the head.

-----

The phone woke him. It seemed like there wasn't going to be one day since moving to Stars Hollow that he could actually sleep in. There always had to be something. Rory was awoken by the ringing as well, but she was doing better than he was at ignoring it. Her eyes were closed tight and she was trying to burrow her way into his chest.

The ringing continued and he couldn't take it. He regretfully pushed Rory away and she naturally began to snuggle with his pillow instead. He genuinely smiled. Leaning against the head board of the bed, Jess ran a hand through his hair before reaching for the cordless phone that lay on the bedside table.

He pressed the 'Talk' button. "Hello?" He asked to the caller; Caller I.D. was a privilege that he and Rory didn't care for.

"Hey Jess."

"Oh, Matt, Hey." Matt was one of Jess' friends that worked at _Truncheon_.

"You sound tired, did I wake you up?"

"Yup." Jess replied groggily.

"Sorry, Man. Just wanted to remind you that we want to take a look at your next chapter in a couple of days."

"Okay, I just have one last paragraph to write and it's done."

"So you'll be here next week?"

"Can't I just email it to you?"

"Computers are down over here. We're getting a new system installed."

Jess sighed. "Can't I just email it to you after it's installed?"

"Won't be for a month. Chris pissed off the original guys who were going to do it and we just now found another company who'll do it."

"Then can I email you the chapter in a month?"

"That would be past deadline, my friend."

"And the problem with that would be…"

"No deadline, no book. You know how it is."

Jess sighed again. "Fine."

"So you'll be here next week?"

"Not by choice."

"Good to know. It'll be nice to see your pretty face around here again. We miss you."

"I would say it was mutual, but…"

Matt smiled. "See you then."

"Bye." Jess frowned as he hung up the phone. He slid down the bed so they he was laying down again and stared at the ceiling.

Immediately following, Rory draped an arm over him. "Who was that?" She asked quietly, eyes still closed as she dragged herself up the bed and placed her head on his shoulder.

Jess turned his head to look at her. "Matt."

"Oh, a due date is coming up, isn't it?"

"Yup."

"You have it done, right?"

"Yup."

"Are you going to say something that involves more than one word?" Her eyes were opened now and were now meeting gaze with his.

"Maybe." He tried to remain serious, but his smirk quickly gave him away.

"Jess!"

"I have to go to Philly."

"Oh, when?"

"Next week."

"Oh."

"Yup."

There was a brief silence. "This makes it more difficult, doesn't it?"

He reached towards her face and tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear. "Of course not."

"If you still lived there…"

"There computers are down, that's all. It's just has to be hand delivered this one time."

"Are you sure? We could…"

"No."

"I just want what's best, and moving to Philadelphia wouldn't be such a bad thing. I could quit my job at the Hartford paper and get one over there. It wouldn't be a big deal."

"We just moved here."

"It's not like I'm glued here. I actually don't think it's that great…" She tried.

"Rory, you love it here."

"I could love Philly too… if that's what you wanted."

"It's not what I want."

"Says who?"

"Me."

"Oh, right."

He smiled and kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Stop worrying about keeping me happy, I'm happy."

"Well, do you want me to come with you?"

"You could come if you want."

"Really?" Her eyes suddenly glowed brighter.

"Yeah."

"Good, I want to come." They each snuggled closer and enjoyed the silent company.


	5. Stars Hollow! Philadelphia! New York?

**Chapter Five:  
**Stars Hollow! Philadelphia! New York?

Rory stood in front of the two foot wide mirror looking at her reflection in the cramped bathroom. The glass was mounted above the sink where various supplies were set—lotion, makeup, hair gel. Her hair was soaking wet and dripping down the white button-up blouse she had just put on to go with her black pinstripe business skirt.

Grabbing the hair drier off of the counter, she flipped the switch and the hot air began to blow. Rory ran her right hand through her hair in an attempt to get it to try faster while she pointed the blower at her head. It took all about 30 seconds before she gave up, turned the switch back to 'OFF', slammed the damned thing back on the counter and swiftly tied her hair up in a pony tail; all in spite.

Hearing the slam from the adjacent room, Jess rushed over. "Ror?" He asked worriedly.

As he reached the threshold she had already turned around to meet him. "Yeah?" She answered chirpily.

"Did I hear something fall?"

"Oh." Rory's cheeks started to redden. "That was the hair drier. I got mad at it."

Jess smirked. "Why did you get mad at it?"

"It didn't dry my hair." She pointed at her still dripping hair that was now just gathered into a loose bun.

"Well I know I didn't hear it running for more than a few seconds…I assume it takes more than that to dry all of your hair."

Rory rolled her eyes at him. "Well, maybe they should invent one that only takes a few seconds. I'm way too impatient."

Jess grabbed her hands and pulled her out of the bathroom, turning the light off as he passed the switch. "I'll call those inventors and tell them to get right on that when we get back."

She grabbed her coat out of the closet and folded it over her arms. "They have numbers? I figured they'd be hermits who spent every waking hour tinkering with their inventions." Rory joked.

"They actually live in a factory. All of them…stuffed into a cramped space. It's quite the sight." Jess grabbed his jacket and went about putting it on.

"Hmm…we should go visit that factory. Is it on our way to Pennsylvania?"

"Actually it's in China. You know we don't make anything in the U.S. anymore." Jess smiled. "So, do we have everything?"

"We already went over this."

"Yeah, well I want to be sure."

"Aww…look at you, being all responsible." She grinned.

Jess leaned in over Rory's shoulder and whispered in her ear. "Don't tell anyone; don't want my reputation being ruined or anything." He darted his eyes back and forth in mock suspicion.

"Like they don't already know you're a sap."

Jess glared at her. "And I wasn't going to say anything about the fact that you're wearing a suit. But since you're being mean…"

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Rory looked down at her clothing.

"I don't know…it's not like you're going to go and interview someone for you paper or anything. It's just seems a little professional to be wearing to a place like Truncheon."

"Well, I wanted to make an impression."

"On who?" Jess raised an eyebrow.

"Your friends." She turned her head sheepishly.

"The fact that they'll get to see someone of the opposite gender will impress them." He held her head gently in his hands as he spoke to her. "The fact that you're pretty will knock them off their feet." He smiled and she just glared at him.

"That was too easy."

"What?" He smirked.

"You're compliment. The set up for it made it way too easy."

"You just can't take a compliment." He nodded his head from side to side while wearing a tight smile.

"Neither can you."

"I guess we'll just both be self-conscience for the rest of our lives."

"Looks like it." Rory smiled and shrugged.

Jess leaned his face towards hers and chastely kissed her. "Let's go."

-----

One Year, Eight Months Ago…

"_Are you sure you want to do this?"__ Rory asked. Both she and Jess were sitting in Jess' car which was parked across the street from the gazebo in Stars Hollow._

"_For the thousandth time, yes."_

"_Because they'll stare." She stated._

"_I know."_

"_And they might even come up to us and talk."_

"_I know.__" He replied once more getting slightly annoyed._

"_And they might say embarrassing things."_

"_I know!" He was at his breaking point._

"_And…"_

"_Rory." Jess stated her name calmly as he inhaled deeply._

"_Yeah?"_

"_Do you want to do this?"_

"_Of course."_

"_Then why are you trying to persuade me not to?"_

"_I just don't want anything unexpected to come up."_

"_I've lived here, remember? I know how loony this town is. They'll see us together; they'll know about you and me. Problem solved."_

"_It's different now though…you coming back here…with me. They still hate you for leaving."_

_Jess changed his gaze from out the car window to Rory. "Do you?"__ He asked after a brief moment of silence._

_Two simple words that required only a one word answer. Rory looked at him shocked at first but her expression changed to anger then thought. She closed her eyes but could still feel Jess' staring at her. After a minute she replied. "Honestly?"_

_Jess took another deep breath before answering. "Yeah."_

_Rory bit her lip and forced herself to answer. "Sometimes…I mean, I used to." Jess remained silent and she continued. "For those first couple of years in college I felt so lost…I guess I blamed that on you. It wasn't really your fault but I blamed you anyway. And I know it's not fair but I always wondered what would have happened if you had stayed. I really didn't know if Yale was where I belonged. When you left it seemed like I wasn't so sure about anything anymore." When she stopped her rant a single tear trailed down her face._

_Jess reached over the console separating them and wiped it off of her face. __Lingering his hand against her cheek, he whispered. "What do you mean?"_

_Rory sniffled before continuing. "When Dean broke up with me at that dance marathon I was sure it was going to be okay because I was sure that you and I were supposed to be together. And then when I decided to go to Yale instead of Harvard I was sure it was the right decision because…" She stopped and more tears came trickling down her cheek._

"_Because what?" Jess' tone remained the same as he removed the hairs that were sticking to her face and tucked the stray strands behind her ear._

"_It's really stupid."_

"_You can tell me."_

"_Be__cause I would be closer to you." She blurted out._

"_Oh."_

_She sniffled again and continued her rant before he could say more. "When you left everything I was so sure about…everything my Pro/Con lists told me…I just wasn't so sure anymore. You left so maybe we weren't supposed to be together. Then I just got back from Europe and I thought, 'Hey, maybe I should have gone to Harvard.' And I know it was really stupid of me to choose my college based on the proximity of my boyfriend…but Yale is a great school and my grandparents wanted me to go there, and I would be closer to Mom too. So I rationalized good reasons for my decision other than you. I __**had**__ to rationalize a good reason for it." She repeated herself. "But I hated you for leaving. I was such a wreck but I had to hide it because everyone that cared about me hated you."_

"_Oh." It was all Jess could say now_

"_So yes, when I think about that first summer or the year that followed when you just came back in and out of my life unexpectedly…I hated you so much for leaving. But when I rationalize it all and know that it's not fair to blame you I hate myself for blaming you."_

_Jess opened the car door and walked around to the passenger seat. Ushering Rory out of the car he silently and unexpectedly embraced her in a tight hug. "You should have blamed me…"_

----

They had left at around three in the afternoon and were just turning on to the street in Philadelphia where the small publishing house was located by a quarter to seven. In Jess' couple of years living on this street he had never seen it quite alive. Usually a few cars would be parallel parked along the sidewalk but it was different today. Every spot was filled and now that Jess thought about it, the parking spaces around the surrounding block were jammed packed as well.

A sedan was just leaving its space as Rory and Jess turned the corner and Jess swiftly pulled into the now unoccupied space.

"It wasn't this busy when I came and visited you that first time. Or any time I came to visit you for that matter." Rory observed.

"I've never seen it so busy either."

Both pressed the buttons to release their seat belts and opened the car doors. Jess was already on the street so he waited for Rory to walk over to the other side of the car before they joined hands and crossed the two-way road to get to Truncheon.

"Don't you need your chapter?" Rory asked, questioning why Jess was bringing nothing with him inside.

Jess reached into his pocket and pulled out a USB drive. "Thought I would go 21st century." He winked at her before reaching for the front door's handle.

"I thought their computers were down." Jess brought his hand back to his side and the pair remained on the stoop.

"That means their network's down. Can't send or receive anything."

"Oh, duh." She hit herself on the forehead with her palm lightly. "I knew that. Guess I was having a lapse of stupidity."

Jess smirked. "So can we go inside now?"

"Yeah." She smiled at him.

Jess placed his right hand on her lower back before opening he opened the door and led Rory inside. The room looked entirely different from what both were expecting. There was a large crowd of people standing around with drinks in hand and what seemed like hundreds of black and white balloons tied securely on anything they could be attached to.

Rory leaned into Jess and whispered. "Why didn't you tell me there was going to be a party?"

"They didn't tell me…" Jess eyed around for one of his old friends. Spotting Matt leaning against the rail of the stairs, Jess walked over to him as Rory followed.

"Matt…" He tapped the blonde's shoulder to get his attention.

Matt focused on Jess. "Hey man! Glad you could make it."

"What's going on here?" Jess asked.

Matt chose to ignore Jess and turned to Rory. "Have I met you?"

"Several times." Rory answered, smiling. She leaned towards Jess. "I'm going to go walk around." He nodded.

"Matt." Jess tried to get his attention again.

"Yes."

"What's with the gathering?"

"Oh? This little thing. A little farewell party."

"For who?"

"Us."

"What are you talking about?"

"After today, Truncheon is no more."

"What?" Jess was baffled.

"Out of money. You can't run a business without money."

"Are you drunk?"

"I had a few things to drink."

"So you're making this all up, right?"

"Afraid not."

"So you didn't want me to come to bring my next chapter then."

"Negative."

"You tricked me into coming."

"It seems so."

Jess rolled his eyes. "So what happens to my book? It was almost done. Are you going to finish it or is all that work wasted?"

"We sent your book to a publisher over in New York. They love it. All I needed to do was get your approval."

"So all this…"

"…is a little party for our clients to meet their new publishers." Matt finished.

"Why couldn't you just tell me that in the first place?"

"Didn't seem like a good idea at the time."

Jess rolled his eyes again and sighed. "So which one do I need to talk to?"

Matt scanned the room. His eyes widened as he saw who he was looking for. "He's actually the one talking with your girlfriend over there." He pointed to a far corner. "His name's Robert Dalton."

As Jess approached Rory he overheard the tail end of their conversation. They were talking about New York and how Rory wished she could visit the city more often.

Rory spotted Jess coming closer and subconsciously smiled. She held out her left hand which he immediately grabbed with his right before she quickly pecked a sweet kiss on his cheek. "Hey." Rory greeted. "Get everything taken care of?"

"Working on it." Jess smiled back as he turned to the man he assumed was Robert Dalton.

"Oh this is…" Rory began to introduce.

"Robert Dalton?" Jess finished questioning as he held out his hand.

Robert turned to Rory as he shook Jess' hand. "Wow, not to often you run into a psychic."

"Actually Matt sent me over here. I'm Jess Mariano."

"Ah, just the man I was looking for."

Rory turned to Jess with a confused expression.

"Just a moment." Jess stated politely before facing Rory. "Mr. Dalton…"

"You can just call me Rob." The man interjected; Jess nodded as he pulled her away a few feet away from where they were standing.

"Rob could possibly be my new publisher." Jess explained to Rory in a quiet tone but her expression did not change. "This little get-together will be Truncheon's last. They're going out of business and we're apparently here to meet Rob."

"Did you know that before we came?"

"Nope. Matt just told me."

"Oh. Well I guess you need to talk to Rob then." She smiled and bobbed her head in Rob's direction.


	6. Changes, Similarities, & Predictability

**A/N: **I'm glad most of you were as horrified as I was when I closed Truncheon. It _should_ be all for the best in the end. This chapter's flashback is from a story I was writing but probably won't end up publishing… a little look into some early Luke/Jess interaction.

Thank you for your kind reviews. It is my attempt to keep Gilmore Girls alive in the world and even more so to fix the mishandlings of the Literati relationship. (:

**Chapter Six:  
**Changes, Similarities, and Predictability

An hour later, Jess found Rory sitting outside on the stoop. Her coat was wrapped around her tightly as the night was quite chilly. She was looking up at the sky, at the glimmering stars above. He closed the door softly behind him to block out the noise from the party that was still going on inside. It was quite a turnout after all.

He took a step forward before sitting down next to her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer to him. It seemed that it was just now that she had noticed his presence. She turned her head and looked him straight in the eyes. "So, how did it go with _Rob_?" Her tone was unintentionally sharp when mentioning the man's name.

"Okay." Jess shrugged his shoulders casually.

"Just okay?" Rory asked innocently. It was how conversations usually worked between the pair. He would answer with a monosyllabic response and in turn she would question his reply to get him to tell her more. There had once been a time when these tactics didn't work as well. Back when they were first dating as teenagers it had been harder; his barrier was tougher. But now, he had opened up—maybe not completely but he was getting there.

Jess simply shrugged again. "He seemed nice. Really likes my writing for some strange reason."

There was a brief glimpse of a sparkle in his eyes and she immediately knew he was fishing for some sort of compliment. She offered him a small smile as she decided not to go that particular route. Rory mimicked his shrug. "It's all right." Jess gave her a genuine smile before kissing her softly on her temple. She placed her head on his shoulder and turned her glance back up towards the stars. "So, is he going to be the new publisher?"

"Don't know." Jess answered honestly. "He's pretty high up in the publishing company he works for but the thought of working for somebody else other then these guys is weird."

"Yeah…"

They enjoyed the next few moments in silence. Every once in a while, muffled sounds from inside would reach their ears as well as the sounds of cars off in the distance. Jess was the one to break the silence. "So, are we going to sit out here forever?"

"It's kind of peaceful." Rory's voice was serene. "Maybe we can get up in a couple of minutes."

"'Kay. I made sure Matthew's crap wasn't crowding my room upstairs."

"I still can't believe they're still saving it for you."

"Some may say I can be very persuasive." Rory just scoffed.

-----

She had been up to Jess' old room before and she was the first of the two of them to get up their tonight. Jess said he wanted to talk to the guys before he met Rory up there. Apprehensively, she turned the light switch on. To her surprise, everything looked exactly the same way it had the last time she was up here (aside from the fact that a miniscule amount of dust covered the surfaces of the miniscule amount of furniture that was in the tiny room). Aside from the dust, his books were gone too. This, however, wasn't any different because the last time she had been up here had been about six months ago when Jess was moving to Connecticut.

Rory found that without the books, Jess' old room had lost its charm. Back when Jess still lived her and Rory used to visit him she could always hide away into his inner sanctum and read the books that crammed the ceiling-high book shelf. Now, there was nothing but dust to entertain her. Sighing heavily, she shut off the light and lay on his bed.

It was a half an hour later when Jess entered the room. Rory was still lying on top of the covers, curled up in a ball to keep herself warm. He smirked at the sight of her. Her left hand was draped over her body and was hovering off of the edge of the bed. Slipping of his shoes, he grabbed her hand and watched her slightly stir. She was awake and he knew it; she was just faking for some reason or another.

Jess bent over and kissed her gently on her palm and began a trail of soft kisses up her arm until he was lying next to her. By the time he had reached her neck, he was completely on the bed and the left arm of hers that had previously been hovering was now wrapped tightly around him.

He stared deeply at her freckled face; mostly in an attempt to agitate her out of her fake slumber. He watched her for moments as she began to subconsciously twitch from his glare. After a few moments he decided he would just 'go in for the kill' so-to-speak and kissed her slowly, tenderly, on the lips. As soon as she began to reciprocate the kiss he stopped and leaned away.

One of her eyes opened curiously to find him smirking back at her. "Faker," he whispered.

She scrunched her nose as she stubbornly she whispered, "Prove it."

He simply shrugged, enveloped her in his arms and shut his eyes.

"Jess…" He didn't stir. "Jess…" She spoke his name louder now. As he continued to be still she got agitated and smacked him playfully with her free arm. "Okay fine." He only raised an eyebrow, urging her to continue. "Okay, fine I was faking."

A smile played at his lips as his eyes shot open, locking in to hers. "Good girl." Rory simply rolled her eyes with a smile on her face.

A moment rolled by with both of them drunk on each other's gazes. "So…" Jess began, not really knowing how to phrase what he was about to say.

"So, what…?"

He took a deep breath before speaking. "I decided I'm going to go for it."

A confused look flashed across her features before she realized what he was talking about. She really didn't know what to say so she blurted out the first thing that came to her. "He seemed nice; Rob did. I mean…he was nice to me when we were talking."

"He seems alright."

"Good. I'm happy for you." Jess nodded, knowing she wanted to say something more. "Are you going to have to go there often? New York I mean…"

"I asked him."

"And…" Rory edged.

"He said I'd have to be there about a week every month." A flicker of sadness shot across his dark eyes.

"Oh." Thoughts poured through her mind about what'd she would have do with him out of town so often. She attempted to calm herself down, thinking that they had been apart way longer than a week before—years actually! It had just been in the last couple of years when they began to date again that things had been different. They hadn't been apart for more than a continuous week every six months. Now, twelve weeks out of the year?

He seemed to read her mind as he made his reply, "You can come with me when I go to New York. We haven't been there together since…well, when you skipped school and came to visit me." He smiled at the memory and so did she.

"That's a lot of time off work. They'd probably fire me if I took that much vacation time."

"Tell them you're following a lead. Maybe they'll pay for it." He smirked.

"I'm sure they'll fall for that every month. Especially when I come back empty handed" Her tone was playful yet sarcastic now.

Maybe I shouldn't go for it; I could find somewhere closer to home."

"No. Jess, this is an amazing opportunity. You can't turn it down…I won't let you turn it down. I can deal with a week every month." The look he gave her was enough to make her continue. "I can!" She assured him.

He briefly pouted. "What if I can't?" He spoke in that husky, quiet voice he only used every once in a while when revealing what he truly thought. It was enough to make her knees weak.

"There's always the phone." She snuggled closer to him.

He kissed her forehead. "This was definitely not how I planned this trip to go." He mumbled. "Bastards." He added as an afterthought referring to his supposed friends who worked at Truncheon. The ones who neglected to tell him that Truncheon was low on money. Maybe if they had he could have done something to help…

------

Rory's voice woke him up the next morning. Usually it was his God-forsaken alarm clock in their apartment back in Stars Hollow. But today, it was her voice—he thought that it was one of the better ways to be woken up. She was no longer wrapped in his arms on his twin-sized bed; she was pacing the small room talking on her cell phone while distractedly drawing patterns in the dust on the furniture.

"No Grandma, it's really fine. We weren't there for too long." Rory was attempting to reassure her grandmother.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that maid; she's as good as fired. And I'm so sorry we have to reschedule. Are you and Jess available Friday?"

"Actually Grandma, we're in Philadelphia."

"That's such a wonderful city! Your grandfather was there a few months ago on business. He said he loved it and he can't wait to go back. What are you doing there?"

"Business. Jess' publisher's here." _Was_ _here_.

"I see. It is such a shame that we couldn't have our dinner. Maybe we could reschedule."

"Sure Grandma. That sounds great."

"How does Friday sound?"

"We're actually here for the rest of the week." Rory lied, knowing it would take more than a few days to persuade Jess to go to Friday Night Dinner. "How about next Friday?"

"That sounds wonderful! Oh and Rory, I am deeply sorry about the mix up."

"It's really no problem Grandma."

"Okay then. I guess I'll see you next week!"

"Yup, see you next week."

She pressed the 'End' button on her cell phone and placed it on Jess' old desk. She stared at it for a moment; wondering if this was where he first started writing _The Subsect_.

"Your Grandma?" He questioned, even though he already knew the answer. His voice startled her and she jumped out of her reverie, spinning around to see him sitting up against the headboard.

"Yeah. She just found out that we were there when she wasn't."

"I see," he swallowed, "poor maid," he added.

"You're telling me." She sat down on the edge of the bed and laid down, her legs still touching the floor. "I'd hate to work in that house."

"I hate _going_ to that house."

"Oh. Well, we're rescheduled for next week." She bit her lip nervously and lifted her head slightly to look at him.

"Guess the last one didn't count anyway." He shrugged and she smiled. Rory repositioned herself so she was now sitting next to Jess. "So, since our business is done here…guess we should head home."

"Seems like it."

"Maybe I should call Luke; let him know we're coming early." He suggested although he didn't make the slightest movement to do so.

"Probably would be polite."

"Or…"

"Or what?"

"We can stay here for a couple more hours."

"And do what?"

Jess smirked devilishly before kissing Rory fervently as they began to tangle themselves in the sheets.

------

_Jess entered the diner and, as always, the bells jingled when the door opened. Luke—his uncle, his new guardian—was standing at the counter ringing up some faceless patron for their meal. It was like that all day today. As he walked throughout the town everyone seemed so bland and not worth noticing—so he chose not to. Well, almost everyone. _

_He took each of his shoes off and set them next to the object he now referred to as his raft. In reality, it was a blow-up mattress that he was sure to be on the brink of bursting. He sat down his pile of things that were dumped on his 'bed' earlier that day. As he did so, each side of the 'mattress' lifted inches off the ground._

_Jess could feel a headache coming on. There was something about this town that was screaming insane asylum. Maybe it was the mothers and daughters in matching outfits or the fact that every single person that he chose not to notice today had a smile on their face (it wasn't his fault he actually noticed this; he was really just observing). Desperately he looked for his personal, patent-pending, remedy for the throbbing that was coming along. After a moment of digging through his clothes he found the red and white carton he was looking for underneath a pair of wrinkled pants. All he needed to do know was found that damn lighter of his and the cigarette he was desperately craving would be his._

_All of a sudden, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Unlike any normal teenager who would normally choose to __not__ light a cigarette when a parent or guardian was coming their way, he did so anyway (frankly because he really didn't give a shit about Luke; or this town; or hell, anyone in this town). Well, maybe there was an exception._

_While he was taking a drag of his freshly lit cigarette, Luke burst through the door. Jess ignored Luke's stare that was screaming "Unbelievable!" through unspoken words and he instead continued what he was doing. Luke shook his head and walked to a window to open it._

_There was a moment of silence when both men just looked at each other. Finally, Luke spoke, "So, where'd you go?" He asked the question casually as if he had given Jess permission to leave in the first place._

"_Out." Jess responded, using the same answer he had used earlier in the day when Luke had asked him where he was going. Jess took another drag of his cigarette, inhaling the fumes before blowing them towards his uncle._

_Luke simply waved the smoke out of his vicinity before he nodded and attempted to continue the conversation. "Run in to anyone while you were out?"_

"_Yup." Jess looked at his uncle as if daring him to ask who._

_Awkwardly, Luke continued. "Were you nice to him?" _

"_Her." Jess corrected._

"_Her?"_

"_Yup." Jess felt the conversation getting duller and duller by the second which really wasn't helping his headache. Curious as to what Luke's reaction would be if Jess chose to tell Luke who 'Her' was, he continued. "Rory."_

"_You weren't rude or anything to her, were you?"_

"_I didn't yell at her if that's what you mean." Jess' cigarette was just about finished now and he smashed the butt against his jeans, searing a small hole into the denim._

"_Rory's a good kid."_

"Don't get any ideas, she has a boyfriend."

"I didn't say anything." Jess rebutted.

------

It was night when they arrived back to Stars Hollow and it was the same as ever. As they got out of the car Rory wasn't surprised at all to hear that no other sounds but the slamming of their car doors could be heard. She smiled at the town's predictability; something that hadn't gone unnoticed by Jess.

"What?" Jess had asked. As Rory turned her head to look at him she saw that he was smiling as well. _Her smiles were contagious, after all_.

"What do you mean what?" She looked at him with a confused expression.

"You're smiling." He informed her.

She took the tips of her fingers and traced her smile as if she didn't believe him. "Huh." She mimicked him and her smile grew wider.

"What are you smiling at?" He questioned as they began their walk to the apartment's front door.

Rory shrugged. "I don't know."

Jess gave her a strange look before deciding that this conversation was going nowhere. Swiftly ushering her inside, he announced, "I'm beat."

"Go to bed, I'll be right there."

He kissed her on her temple before disappearing into their bedroom. Rory walked to their answering machine. The red light was blinking; she pressed 'Play'.

"Hey Sweets! It's Mommy. This is just a reminder for you to remind me that we _have_ to go shopping when you get back. That's all for now!" Lorelai's voice filled the quiet room. Rory's smile grew even more. A day with her mom sounded pretty good.

The next message began to play. "Hello. This is Rebecca Scheisser calling from the New York Times for Lorelai Gilmore. We've read your stuff and would really like you to give us a call back as soon as you can. You can reach us at 497-5…" Rory deleted the message before she heard the rest of it.

------

**A/N**: There are parts of this I like and others I'm not too fond of. Either way, if you would be kind enough to review I would be really appreciative.


	7. Future for Sale

**a/n: **Can I apologize for the extremely long wait…especially since the bulk of this has been done for a good couple of months? Yeah, you can shoot me now since it happened after the whole phone call thing. Sorry, life got in the way.

**Chapter Seven:  
**Future for Sale

Nothing brought the Gilmore girls to the mall faster than the word 'Sale'. It was the word that was emblazoned on larger than life red signs that hung casually from the ceilings throughout the department stores. Crowds of people flocked to the racks marked 'Clearance' or "40 Off". Even though these signs were obnoxiously annoying, the clothes they brought you to were quite the bargain.

Rory and Lorelai had already been shopping for over three hours. Their hands were full of an assortment of bags filled with an assortment of clothes. They decided to take a break for now (because there was always more shopping to do) and get something to eat at the food court. After deciding upon a crappy burrito place, they ordered their food and began their search for a table.

Grabbing the food out of the paper bag, both Lorelai and Rory began unwrapping the greasy product.

"So, tell me, how was Philadelphia."

"Fine."

Something in Rory's expression told Lorelai that the trip hadn't exactly been 'fine'. "What happened?"

After a moment, Rory mumbled, "Truncheon's closing."

"What about Jess' job?" Lorelai asked suddenly.

"Um, he has, uh, a new one."

"That was fast." She looked at Rory with curiosity. "Where?"

"New York." Rory stated as if she just realized it for herself. _New York_. The two monosyllabic words continued to repeat in her mind: _New York, New York, New York…_

"Does he have to—"

Rory cut Lorelai off before her sentence was completed, "A week every month." She looks away now, tapping her fingers gently on the table.

"That's a lot of time away." Rory turned her head back to look at her mother. Lorelai's eyes actually look sympathetic. _Jess is no longer a taboo subject_.

"Yup."

"I see." Lorelai is startled by her daughter's lack of response. "Well, what are you guys going to do about it?"

"Nothing. He'll go away for a week every month and I'll deal." Lorelai is still baffled by the way Rory is shrugging the whole situation away like nothing was happening. Rory caught her mother's stare and continued. "It's not like we have never been apart. I mean, a week is nothing compared to years!"

Lorelai continued to stare. After a moment, her eyes close slightly, "There's something you're not telling me." Rory doesn't reply. "You know I'm going to find out eventually."

"I know." Rory whispers.

"Ha! So there is something!" Lorelai grins despite the melancholy feel of the conversation.

"Well…there is I guess."

"You might as well tell me then."

"I haven't even told Jess."

"Were you planning on telling Jess?"

Rory mumbled, "No."

"So, tell me." Lorelai insisted.

Rory gulped a huge breath of air and sighed. "The New York Times called me…"

"Hmm, I'd expect you to say that with a smile. Why aren't you smiling? Did you call them back?"

Rory shook her head. "I deleted the message."

"Why would you do that?!" Lorelai asked rather loudly. A few of the people sitting at the tables around them began to stare.

"I don't know! We just got home and Jess went to bed and I listened to the messages and _it_ came on and I pressed delete! It was impulse. It was a stupid impulse. I mean it was the New York Times! I could have at least called." There was a pause in Rory's ranting and Lorelai looked like she was about to speak; however, Rory continued, "Especially since Jess' job's there now. I mean it would make sense! But no…I have to be an idiot and press delete." Rory placed her head in her hands and began to catch her breath.

"Sweetie, maybe it wasn't the fact that this is beyond the perfect job coming at the perfect time, might I add…maybe you're just a little too attached to Stars Hollow."

"You think I'm attached to Stars Hollow?"

"Well you have lived there your whole life."

"What about when I went to Yale. I wasn't living in Stars Hollow then!" Rory reasoned.

"Rory…"

"We've hardly lived in our apartment for a month. I actually got Jess to move back! He hates Stars Hollow!" Rory furrowed her brow before softly repeating, "He hates Stars Hollow…"

"Rory, Jess would go anywhere you wanted him to."

"Well, what if he doesn't want to move back to New York? I keep telling him that if he wants to move, we'll move. He just says that he's happy where we are."

"Do you mean it?"

"Do I mean what?"

"When you say you'll move if he wants to…do you mean it?

"Why wouldn't I mean it? I mean, I love Stars Hollow but if—"

"Rory," Lorelai cut her off, "I think you need to talk this over with Jess."

"But what if he thinks…"

"Rory, just talk to him."

------

Rory entered the near-dark apartment with her arms full of bags. She casually dropped them all by the front the door when she spotted Jess lying on their sofa, book in hand. "Hey," she greeted. Jess sat up to look at her briefly. He offered her a small smile and a nod before laying back down; he shifted slightly to regain comfort. "Um, can we talk?" Rory asked and the room stayed silent for around a minute while she stared at him and he stared at the pages of his book.

"'Bout what?" Jess asked, setting the book down on his abdomen.

Rory walked over to their couch and Jess moved his legs so that there would be a place for her to sit. "Um, I got a call earlier. Not earlier today; but earlier in the week."

"Uh huh…"

"It was from the New York Times." She looked over to him and somewhat expected him to show some type of emotion; instead all she found was Jess looking at her, his features stoic as ever. "They offered me a job." He still didn't say anything and Rory was getting agitated. "Well? Aren't you going to say something?"

He took a breath and it looked as if he was choosing his words carefully. "I know." Rory's eyes became cloudy and her face befuddled. Silently she was asking 'How could you know?' Jess continued, "They called…again, I suppose. Said that it was unfortunate they hadn't heard from you yet. They were wondering if they were going to hear from you at all."

"Oh."

Silence spread throughout the room quickly. Even the monotonous sounds that usually filled the room couldn't be heard by either. "What I wonder," Jess was nearly whispering now, "Is why you didn't call them back, or even why you didn't bother to tell me earlier."

Rory bit down on her bottom lip. "I don't know…"

"How can you not know, Ror?" His voice was loud now, the suddenness of the volume startled Rory; her heart was beating faster, and faster…

"I…I…I don't know. I was scared. Not to tell you; I wanted to tell you. I just wasn't sure. I mean, when we got back from Philly I was _so_ happy to be home. Here. I love it here. And then I went and checked the messages and there it was; Rebecca-something calls from the New York Times and I felt like I couldn't catch my breath. I was in a euphoric state and here comes this dream job and before the message even finishes I press delete!"

"…Why?"

"Because it was in New York." Jess looked at her strangely. "And your job's in New York. And if both our jobs are in New York it works out perfectly. The distance, the away time…it would be okay."

Jess ran a hand through his hair. "I don't see the problem."

"There wouldn't be a problem…" Rory stated stubbornly.

"Rory…"

"We…we…wouldn't be here."

Jess replied silently in a knowing nod. He didn't take motion towards her, didn't even attempt to console her in a comforting embrace. The distance between the two remained the same as the room seemed to grow quieter by the second.

Jess closed his eyes as he always did when delving in the realm of deep thought. He could feel the stare coming out of her almost-tear filled eyes. He could tell that she was silently begging for the chance to penetrate his reestablished wall; he didn't dare open his eyes—he needed to think and those eyes of hers were always enough to make him melt.

Minutes passed and not a word was spoken. She continued to look at him, her gaze unbroken save for blinking. He sat there, rubbing viciously at his temples. Quietly, apprehensively, she begged, "Jess, say something…" Her voice disappeared into silence as abruptly as it had disturbed it.

For the second time in the conversation Jess found himself choosing his words carefully. Distracting himself to gain a quick second more of thought, he licked his now dry lips. Taking a deep breath, "I thought you said that you'd move anywhere; if you were with me, you would be happy." His voice came out in a raw whisper.

"I did, but…"

"But you're happy here." Jess finished.

"You're not…" The words slipped out as soon as Jess finished his sentence.

"Rory, I told you it wouldn't matter where we lived. As long as _we_ lived there." He was getting agitated.

"But…"

"Damn it Rory! I'm sick of having this conversation. You wanna live here? We'll live here. You wanna take the job at the Times and move to New York, we'll move to New York! Stop worrying about what I want."

"Jess…" She reached out to touch his hand but he recoiled and stood up.

His voice came out gentler, "I think you need to time to think about this. _Alone_."

"Jess!" Rory's voice rang out through the small apartment as Jess disappeared into the bedroom. A moment later he emerged with a small bag. "Jess…you don't need to leave." He was already at the door and she was standing close behind.

He turned to look at her. Rory's eyes were bigger than ever and the tears that were threatening to fall moments before were now making trails down her face and dripping off her chin. Jess grabbed Rory her shoulders and edged closer and closer to her lips. The softest touch of their lips sent a shock through both of their systems that only lasted a second before he let his arms fall limply to his sides as he took a step back. "I'll be gone a week. I'm going to go to New York and get the whole publishing thing worked out. And when I come back I hope you know what you're going to do about that great job offer of yours." He gave her a small smile.

"What do you—?"

Jess placed two fingers against her lips to get her to stop taking. "You should do what _you _want. When I come back I'll stand by your decision."

Rory nodded in agreement as Jess left through the front door.

**A/N:** Review...please?


	8. Away Time

**a/n: **Aww, you guys, I'm glad you are still attached to the story. I really appreciate it. And now it took another two months for this one (Happy New Year, by the way). Gah, I'm horrible. So…next chapter time? (Italics are flashbacks)

**Chapter Eight**

Away Time

Three days, fourteen hours, and twenty-nine minutes until he would be back home. Rory didn't consider counting the seconds; she didn't want to seem _too_ pathetic. It was Friday again and the rescheduled Friday Night Dinner was later tonight. Rory was pacing back and forth in the apartment staring at the phone, wondering whether or not she should call her grandparents and reschedule again since Jess was out of town.

Jess had called once since his departure and that was only to inform Rory that he had arrived in New York safely and that he was staying with an old friend. Since he left, she had preoccupied herself with writing an article about the Hartford transportation system. A lot of time was left for deciding whether or not she was going to take the job at the _Times_ however Rory instead found something else to do…_anything except that_.

She had kept mostly to herself the last couple of days and she was getting restless. Today, she would go spend the day out and about in Stars Hollow. Looking out the window, Rory was pleased to find that it was a nice day. Rays of light were streaming through the thin glass and reflecting off the hardwood floor that Rory had spent all of yesterday cleaning. Before she changed her mind, Rory tied up the laces on her shoes and headed out the door.

-----

Six Months Ago…

"_Ug."_

"_What?" Jess asked, his voice low, as he pulled Rory closer to him._

"_I don't want to get up."_

"_Then don't. Stay here."_

_Rory looked up him and pouted. "I have to go back to Stars Hollow. I didn't even tell Mom I was coming down here this weekend."_

_Jess smirked at her. "It's expected."_

_She rolled her eyes. "I'd rather my mother not expect us to do __**that**__."_

_He grinned and moved toward her lips. She turned her head. "What now?" Jess asked exasperated._

"_Morning breath." She covered her mouth with her hand._

"_I'll get over it." He shook his head and removed her hand from her mouth._

_-----_

Walking outside the apartment, Rory debated what to do first. She could visit her mom; maybe go to the bookstore or read a book in the gazebo. Everything seemed monotonous and overdone; like she'd done them over a thousand times and each day was a repetition of one lodged deep in memory. She sighed deeply and turned the corner to head to Luke's. It had been days since she had a good cup of coffee.

Miss Patty was standing at the street corner in front of Doose's. Rory helplessly hoped that she wouldn't see her as she walked passed. Of course it didn't work.

"Rory, darling. I haven't seen you in days. What've you been up to?"

"Oh not much. I was busy writing an article so I haven't had the chance to get out much," Rory lied.

"I see. I haven't seen much of Jess either. Have you two been keeping each other company?" She winked at Rory.

Rory blushed, "Um no. He went to New York for the week."

"Really? I had no idea. What is he doing down there?"

"Um, he's visiting a friend," Rory squirmed.

"Oh…so Lorelai told me you got a job offer at the New York Times!"

"Yeah…"

"Are you going to take it? Babette and I are dying to know."

"Uh…I don't know yet."

Miss Patty looked off into the distance. "Is that Kirk in a toga? Excuse me Honey; I just have to go see this!"

Rory laughed. "Bye Miss Patty."

Rory walked the short block to Luke's and entered the room.

-----

"_Okay, now I really have to leave." Rory cuddled next to Jess, her armed draped casually over his naked torso._

"_If I tell you to stay again, will you?"_

_Rory kissed his chest. "Doubtful."_

"_Well…if I persuaded you an hour ago..."_

_Rory put on a sour expression. "Conceited boy…"_

_Jess sat up slightly, rubbing his head. "What time is it?"_

"_I don't know…ten something?"_

_He sat up further, leaving Rory curled under the sheets. "Shit. Why didn't you tell me? I was supposed to meet some guy about his book half an hour ago."_

_Rory shrugged and lazily traced patterns on the mattress. "You were the one distracting me. If you hadn't, I would have left and you wouldn't have missed your appointment."_

_Jess got out of bed and slipped on the discarded boxers he found on the floor. "So, it was either you leaving or me getting potentially fired?"_

_Rory smiled. "Pretty much."_

_He walked over to the bed and leaned in for a quick peck. "I guess it was worth it then. Shower?"_

-----

The diner was quiet. This was expected as it was the awkward time between the breakfast and lunch rushes. As Rory walked in, Luke was wiping down the front counter, Caesar was singing some tune in the kitchen, and Lane was taking her break sitting at one of the tables where Zach had brought Steve and Kwan.

Lane was the first to notice Rory's entrance. "Rory, hey!"

"Hey Lane!" Rory walked toward the table where the young parents were each holding one of the twins. "Hi Zach."

"Rory." Zach looked at Rory skeptically.

Rory leaned toward Lane. "What's his problem?"

"He had this dream the other night that crazy townies were trying to steal the twins. You were one of the them."

Rory furrowed her brow, confused. "Oh, alright." She turned toward Zach with her hands in the air. "Don't worry Zach, I'm not going to take them."

Zach continued to stare at her oddly, "Alright, but I'm still watching you."

"Alright then…I'm going to get some coffee. I'll talk to you guys later."

Rory walked to the counter and sat down on one of the stools. Luke had just finished wiping the counter. "Hi Luke, can I get a coffee to go please? I'm going to go visit Mom at the inn."

"Yeah sure." He grabbed a disposable cup and filled with coffee. "So, your Mom told me you got an offer for a big newspaper company in New York."

"Uh…yeah."

He placed the lid on the cup and handed it to Rory. "You don't sound too excited."

"I don't know whether or not I should take it."

"Yeah…Jess mentioned something about that."

Rory perked up. "You talked to him?"

Luke smiled. "He stopped by on the way out of town. Said he was giving you time to think."

She smiled sadly. "A lot of good that's doing…" She stood up, "Thanks for the coffee Luke."

Luke nodded and watched her walk toward the door. He spoke just as she opened it, "He just wants what's best for you."

Rory turned around, "I know."

-----

_Rory and Jess stood outside her car. "So, do you have everything?" He asked._

"_Hmm…seeing as I didn't bring anything. I guess I do." She smiled at him._

_Jess scratched his chin, "Need anything for the trip?"_

_Rory pretended to think about it, "Probably."_

"_What?"_

"_You."_

"_Huh," he smirked. "Can't help you there."_

"_This long distance thing sucks."_

"_I know." He cupped her face in his palm._

"_We should do something about it…" Rory edged._

"_Hmm…like what?" He mumbled before taking her bottom lip in-between his, kissing her softly._

_She moved her head to talk as he took his advances to her neck, "I don't know…maybe we should move in together?"_

_He stopped and took a step away from her. _

-----

"Hey Michel, is Mom around?"

"I don't know," Michel spoke in a thick accent, "I suppose that depends on whether or not she feels like annoying me or not."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Michel…where is she?"

He scoffed. "She's in the kitchen with Sookie rambling about something or another that apparently doesn't concern me."

Rory grinned, "Did they kick you out of the kitchen again?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Michel blinked slowly, walked around the counter, and into the dining room.

Rory chuckled, "Nice talking to you Michel!"

-----

"_What?" Jess raised an eyebrow._

"_It was just an idea…we don't have to," Rory fidgeted. _

"_Well…do…do you want to?" He began to stutter._

"_I just think it would be nice to see you more than once every two or three weeks."_

"_What about our jobs? Yours is there…mine's here."_

_Rory shrugged, "It was just an idea. I know we're not ready for it now. But I thought it could possibly be an option."_

"_Oh."_

"_And now you're all flustered and uncomfortable. Just forget I said anything and I'll just go now." She kissed him on the cheek, "Call me?"_

_Jess nodded and watched her get inside her car._

-----

When Rory walked into the Dragonfly kitchen, Sookie was swinging a spatula at one of the cooks. Lorelai was standing by the prep table popping strawberries into her mouth.

"Hey Sookie. Hi Mom," Rory greeted.

"Hey Rory!" Sookie exclaimed from the other side of the kitchen.

Lorelai swallowed the strawberry she was eating and walked over to her daughter, pulling her into a bear hug. "There's my little shut-in."

"Since when am I a shut-in?"

"Um, well, this is the first time you've left the house in four days and you haven't answered your phone."

"I was working on an article," Rory fidgeted. "You could have come over."

Lorelai jokingly shrugged, "Been busy."

Rory shook her head, "Do you have time for lunch? I want to talk to you about something."

Lorelai glanced over to the clock on the kitchen wall. "Alright. Mind if we just stay here? Sookie looked like she was making some fabulous lasagna earlier."

"Yeah. That'd be fine."

-----

_Jess watched as Rory's car made it to the stop sign at the end of the block, red break lights bright. He was having a hard time comprehending…she wanted to move in with him? He hadn't even considered the possibility seriously until now. She would probably want to move somewhere close to Stars Hollow and he wondered whether or not he could do that. He really had no problem with the town now; his recent visits there had been successful._

_His eyes continued to trace the outline of her silver Prius as it turned the corner, heading toward the freeway entrance. People walking on the sidewalk briefly glanced at him, following his gaze to the nothingness that remained at the end of the street. Jess caught a middle-aged woman's stare and turned to look at her. She almost looked startled and he wondered what kind of expression he had on. _

_Snapping out of his reverie he walked back inside Truncheon and grabbed the nearest phone dialing quickly._

"_Hello?"_

"_Okay." His voice came out a slight octave above a whisper._

"_What?" Rory asked confused. "Who is this?" She didn't bother checking the Caller I.D._

"_It's Jess."_

"_Oh. What's 'okay'?"_

_A moment passed. "…We can move in together."_

"_But what about your job…or mine?"_

"_Keep yours, I'll figure out mine."_

"_Really?" She smiled into the receiver._

"_Yeah. Really…"_

-----

The meal was warm and as delicious as ever, yet Rory was just trailing it around on her plate with her fork in a seemingly dazed state. Lorelai looked at her worried. "What's wrong, Sweets?"

Rory caught her mother's gaze. "I think I decided what I'm going to do about the job offer."

Lorelai perked up suddenly, "What?"

"…But I'm going to tell Jess first."

Lorelai pouted. "Since when do boys come before Mommy?"

Rory smiled at her, "It's just a life changing decision and he's the one that's going to be with me, so—"

"You're taking it!" Lorelai interjected.

Rory glared at her, "I didn't say that."

"You said 'life changing' and 'going with me'. That's a clear sign pointing to you moving away and er…something life changing."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Mom…"

"Fine…you don't have to say it out loud. Just nod if you're taking it."

Rory grinned and nodded.

-----

Three days, nineteen hours, and thirteen minutes. Rory smiled at the thought while entering the apartment. She walked to the bedroom and turned on the light. She jumped in surprise as she saw Jess lying asleep on the bed. Approaching him curiously, she began to shake him.

Groggy, he looked up at her. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

"Sleeping."

Rory laughed. "I see that, you're not supposed to be here for another three days."

"I thought your grandparents' dinner was tonight."

She smiled. "You remembered."

He smirked at her. "I wouldn't want you to cancel on them. Scary people." His eyes widened in mock fear.

Rory sat down on the bed edge of the bed. "So…I decided."

He sat up. "Oh. yeah?"

She nodded, "I'm going to take it."

Jess tilted his head forward. "Really?"

"Yes," Rory announced indignantly.

"You sure?"

"Yup."

"Positive?"

"Jess…"

"I just want to make sure you're sure."

"Well, stop. It's decided."

He grinned. "Good…so we're moving to New York."

Rory smiled, "We're moving to New York…"

-----

**A/N: Review? **The next chapter will probably be the last…


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